Faultline Derby Devilz trounce San Jose’s Heart’s Delight team to cap season

Lea este artículo en español aquí.

Ending their season with a 4-4 record, the Hollister Faultline Derby Devilz scored a not-unexpected victory against San Jose’s Heart’s Delight in the Aug. 15 roller derby meet at Bolado Park. Formed in 2010, the Devilz dominated the relatively young Heart’s Delight team throughout the game for a final score of 181-82.

“Their team has only been around for a year and a half,” Devilz coach and founding member Berglind “Ice” Burrows said. “Even so, they did great—a lot better than when we played them last time. And overall, it was a really good game.”

For the uninitiated, roller derby is a lot like any other contact sport: controlled chaos. Though sometimes, as the players circle the oblong flat track, that “control” may be a very subtle distinction.

Imagine a two-team football huddle on skates in motion, traveling counterclockwise with everyone trying to block everyone else at the same time. Arms and legs fly, the occasional player hits the ground hard, and penalties are doled out and accepted with great sportsmanship. 

The game is split into two 30-minute periods, made up of two-minute (or less) “jams.” At the start of the jams, each team sends out four blockers and a jammer, who wears a star on her helmet. 

The jammer’s job is to get through the blockers, scoring a point for each one she passes.  The blockers try to stop her, and with offense and defense happening simultaneously, the action is fast-paced and continuous.

As was made clear by the results, the Devilz jammers excelled at racking up those points, taking an early lead in the first two jams with a 7-1 score.

By the fifth jam, scoring 15 points in just the two minutes, the Devilz stretched the lead to 35-3, and the first half ended with a 105-30 score. Though Heart’s Delight rallied somewhat in the second half, they stood no chance of gaining ground against the tide of jammers.

“I wouldn’t say it was unexpected,” Madison “Maddie Massacre” Burrows said. “It was a similar score last time. But there is a lot of sportsmanship in roller derby. We hit each other on the track and then we will all hang out at the afterparty. Nothing is taken to the heart.”

Part of that sportsmanship was shown by the Devilz reassigning player positions to reduce their advantage on the track.

“We took everybody who normally blocks,” Madison said, “and allowed them to jam. We took people out of their comfort zones, and everyone got to try something new.” 

(Madison Burrows, the Devilz coach’s daughter, accompanied her mother to play in the 2025 Roller Derby World Cup last year.)

Overall, Berglind Burrows said she was pleased with the game, but more pleased at the good spirits between the two teams.

“There were not too many penalties,” she said. “Pretty clean play, good strategy, good call-offs, and good passes. But I love the camaraderie the most. With a local league like San Jose, they’re so close, they are basically like family.”

The Heart’s Delight coach, who skates under the name “Clank,” was philosophical about her team’s defeat.

“I was expecting a lot of laughter, a lot of sunshine, a lot of high fives, and a lot of hard hits,” she said. “At the end of the day, I have no thoughts about the score itself, but I am leaving with my heart filled with delight.”

The Faultline Derby Devilz Players

• #4 – Busty Band Aid
• #5 – Heartcore
• #8 – Hydra
• #10 – Bunz
• #13 – Nurse Night ‘n Hell
• #15 – Ice Rock Her
• #18 – Sha’ BAM
• #21 – Ninja
• #81 – Maddie Massacre
• #85 – Moto Maiden
• #214 – Cool Whip
• #930 – Yosemite Sam
• #1313 – Naught Havok
• #4140 – Sasha Degrader

The final home game for the Derby Devilz will be at Bolado Park on Sept. 12. Details will be available on the team’s Facebook page. The Devilz recruit for the adult and youth teams, year long. Contact coach Berglind “Ice” Burrows at (831) 524-1263.

Related stories
Hollister mother-daughter duo competed in 2025 Roller Derby World Cup

Hollister’s Faultline Derby Devilz raising next generation

The many careers of Cara “Gum Beat Ya” Denny, the Roller Derby Queen

We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.